The Rev. Howard G. Hendricks was pastor of a small Fort Worth church when he felt the calling to teach and inspire others to preach.

In 1951, he started teaching practical theology at the Dallas Theological Seminary, where he became known as “Prof” to the more than 10,000 students he instructed over 60 years. He also preached and lectured in more than 80 countries and served as the Dallas Cowboys’ chaplain from 1976 to 1984.

Hendricks, 88, died Wednesday of natural causes at his Dallas home.

A memorial service will be at 11 a.m. March 2 at Stonebriar Community Church, 4801 Legendary Drive in Frisco. Private graveside services will be at Restland Memorial Park.

“His passion in life was to teach other people to teach the word of God,” said his wife, Jeanne Hendricks of Dallas. “His students were his primary focus.”

Hendricks’ teachings spanned the globe. At a single conference in Africa, several hundred pastors might walk miles in their bare feet to hear the Dallas evangelist, his wife said.

“He would teach them the principles of leadership so that they could go back to their churches and teach,” Jeanne Hendricks said. “That was his gift — he was motivational.”

Hendricks was born in Philadelphia and raised by his grandmother Cora Hendricks after his parents separated following his birth.

In a 2003 profile in The Dallas Morning News, Hendricks said he was a troublemaker early in elementary school, a situation that was reversed when he met his sixth-grade teacher.

“She said, ‘I’ve heard a lot about you, but I don’t believe a word of it,’” he recalled.

The encounter became the thrust of his teaching career.

“People are always looking for someone to say, ‘Hey, I believe in you,’” Hendricks said.

Hendricks received his bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College in Illinois, and a master of theology at the Dallas Theological Seminary. He also did graduate studies at Wheaton and at New York University, his wife said.

He was pastor of Calvary Independent Presbyterian Church, now the McKinney Memorial Bible Church, in Fort Worth for a couple of years before he felt his calling to teach and joined the staff at Dallas Theological Seminary.

Hendricks was soon preaching or speaking at engagements across the nation for the National Sunday School Association.

In 1958, he established the Department of Christian Education at the Dallas seminary, where he founded the Howard G. Hendricks Center for Christian Leadership in 1986.

In the mid-1960s, he helped found Pine Cove Christian Camps in Tyler and Columbus.

Hendricks authored more than 15 books, several of which are used as textbooks, his wife said.

Hendricks’ friends included the Rev. Billy Graham and Cowboys coach Tom Landry. In 2002, Hendricks received the Tom Landry Excellence in Character Award from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

He retired in May 2010.

In addition to his wife, Hendricks is survived by two sons, Robert Hendricks of Charlotte, N.C., and William Hendricks of Dallas; a daughter, Beverly Godby of Richardson; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

He requested memorials be made to ministries, organizations and churches that have most affected givers’ lives or to the Howard G. Hendricks Endowment Fund for students at Dallas Theological Seminary.